Judah,
I can’t believe you’re 3 already. You’ve grown so much over the last year; even looking back on the photographs from last year show a completely different boy. You’ve had some pretty big changes this year - moving across the country, completing potty training in under a month, starting pre-school at home and so much more. Your imagination has taken off this year - everything is so much more than it seems with you & your creativity never ceases to amaze me (or make me laugh)! However, you’ve also learned that obedience is a choice and you choose poorly sometimes. I only hope that our discipline will teach you that you need to be saved from your disobedience, just as your mommy & I need to be saved from ours. We pray that often for you. God uses you to teach us so many things, including the fact that we are not perfect & He still has lots of work to do in our hearts. I love your smile, your afternoon snuggles, & the fandom occasions when you’ll just say “daddy, I love you.” I know those won’t last forever, so I cherish each one. I love you son, and I’m excited to see the man you’re becoming.
love,
daddy
P.S. - You may not know it, but your Toy Story birthday party was a blast. Your family and friends love you so much.
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my dad sent me a text today, referencing the time we spent together in Albuquerque packing up our house and then driving to Tulsa:
“Though we worked hard, I really enjoyed the time with you. I’m very proud of the man you’ve become. Later!”
these are words every son needs to hear from his father. they validate him as a person and yet are too infrequently spoken. my dad may never know how much that means to me, but I can guarantee my boys will, because they will hear these words from me all the time.
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this is the first of two long posts about my recent triathlon. i just wanted to get it all out on paper before i forget all of the wonderful parts of the experience.
why a triathlon?
a few sundays ago, i completed my first triathlon. i wanted to capture some thoughts about it before i forget them, because it was an amazingly challenging experience which pushed me to the brink of my physical and mental capacities. it all started at work - there was a group of mostly military folks who thought it’d be neat to do something together. we formed two teams of three and there were two more of us committed to doing the entire thing. the triathlon we signed up for was originally scheduled for 10 july, but was moved to the end of the month, which is when we’ll be on our way to ohio. by the time the race was postponed, i figured i was committed enough to the training and the idea of doing something like this in my 30th year, so i found an earlier tri in fantastic las vegas, nm on father’s day. even though it was a month earlier than i anticipated, i wasn’t too worried until a couple of weeks before the race.
training
i trained hard for 4 months. i’ve never been much of a distance guy; i’ve always been into staying in shape for sports. and, before february, i had never set foot in a pool for the purpose of swimming laps. in fact, i almost died in a lake in germany one time because i was such a terrible swimmer. so, i did what anyone would do - watched some youtube videos and set off to learn how to swim. during the first month, i couldn’t even swim 25 meters without stopping for at least a minute to catch my breath. sometime around the second month, i finally figured out how to get my body enough oxygen and decided it was ok to be really slow. then, i started making big gains in distance, finally training up to 1600 meters. i spent quite a bit of time on the bike and running, but didn’t really push it too hard, because i took it for granted that those parts of the event would be ok. i couldn’t have been more wrong…
race day
the night before the race, i drove the two hours to las vegas and stayed in the historic plaza hotel (did you know this is where they filmed parts of “no country for old men”? neither did i. i could’ve slept in the same bed as tommy lee jones.) it was a neat old hotel, with lots of character, but maybe not the best place to just get a solid night’s sleep and a cold shower after the race. sleep proved fleeting, anyway, and at least it was quiet. i laid out all my gear to make sure it was all there. i went through transitions in my mind. then, i packed it all up again and tried to settle down. kristi gave me a letter that was exactly the encouragement i needed and helped me to still my anxious thoughts. i won’t quote the entire letter, but the parts that stuck with me spoke about how this is an example to the boys of perseverance. while this kind of perseverance is in training for a difficult race and finishing well, it reflects the perseverance of a life lived well - one that is marked by Christ’s work in us. that’s certainly something i want the boys to learn from my life, in all my endeavors. i slept fitfully in the lumpy bed, waking every hour or so. my alarm went off at 4:30 am, but i was already awake. i took my time to wake up slow, then showered, ate two packets of maple brown sugar oatmeal (breakfast of champions!) and trudged downstairs with my race bag, a cooler of drinks and the rented bike. my mind raced with questions: what if i can’t finish even the swim? what if the cold water causes me to freeze up? what if i get a flat tire and can’t change it on the road? what if i’m the last person to finish? as kristi reminded me in her letter, comparing myself to these other athletes isn’t the point - finishing the race is the point. again, this race isn’t just about a race - it’s a parallel with my life. the discipline of practice bore the discipline of prayer and of reading the Bible. i was one of the first ten people to arrive at the race. my nerves were overwhelming my sensibilities, my mind still adrift in the what-ifs…
part 2 coming soon.
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